Brooklyn to run new Swedish 'Beer El Dorado'

US-based Brooklyn Brewery will help set up a microbrewery in an upscale Stockholm neighbourhood, in a business drive with Swedish brewers Carlsberg and Carnegie.

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The three beer makers will move into the Hammarby Sjöstad neighbourhood's Luma Factory, which is considered part of Sweden's functionalist architecture heritage.

There will be an adjoining restaurant and a "beer school" nearby, creating what Carnegie has chosen to dub a "Beer El Dorado".

"Beer has been such an integral part of Swedish culture and gastronomy since the Vikings, but interest waxes and wanes," project CEO Joakim Loisin told The Local.

He thinks Sweden lost some of its traditions at the turn of the century.

"Ten, fifteen years ago the dailies would review one new beer a year, usually the Christmas beer, but they would dedicate an entire column to new wines every day," he said.

"All of northern Europe had downgraded its beer culture. But today, I won't call it a trend, but there's a new awareness," Losin said.

The companies emphasized that the microbrewery will be a meeting place for nearby residents and beer enthusiasts.

"There are 17,000 people living in Hammarby Sjöstad but the neighbourhood doesn't have a go-to attraction. We hope to offer that," Losin said.

The Swedish brewers welcomed the small scale brewing expertise of New York based Brooklyn Brewers, which was set up by local Steve Hindy and his business partner Tom Potter.

"Their knowledge of running a small scale brewery in conjunction with their creativity gives us a head start," said Carlsberg Sweden spokesman Henric Byström to industry magazine Beer Sweden.

The Americans will run the day-to-day production at the new brewery.

Yet the tripartite affair will focus on developing a new unique "Stockholmesque flavour".

"Today we see a lot of US influence. The beers are a bit stronger and more bitter, with a lot of Indian Pale Ales and American Pale Ales that taste strongly of hops. And it's often got a note of citrus that characterizes American strains of hops," Losin told The Local.

And although he professes to adoring Brooklyn Lager himself, Losin looks forward to the brew masters developing a new local style in the brewery that should open by November 2013.

"Italians use chestnuts in their beers, we won't be doing that. But we'll see what we end up doing once the brew masters get to work."

Ann Törnkvist
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